Well, Emu, it's tough, I understand. You go off and try to do something right, and people get all bent out of shape. Some of them are envious because they know how to use the units you now own, but can't afford them. Some people just believe that the inexperienced should not get to play with high end gear until they've cut their teeth on more affordable tools. Don't let it get to you. You can learn the basics of tracking just as well with an Avalon as you can with an Audiobuddy!
I think there are a couple of valid points that may be lost here in all the pissing and moaning. One is that until you learn a whole bunch of skills, you can take that high end gear and record pure garbage. It's true, expensive gear will not make you an engineer.
The second point is that if someone like, say, Bluebear was going to shell out $2000+ for a compressor, he'd think long and hard before he plunked down the cash, and even with his considerable knowledge base and experience, he might be doing some research in the dead of night to find the best unit to fill weaknesses in his signal chain options.
I'm with you, Emu. I've spent lots of money on high end gear that I barely know how to use, but I am getting better. Here's my best advice.- Take a very small percentage of that money, and use half of it to buy a bunch of books on recording. Read them.
Then take the other half, find a poor but competent tracking engineer, and pay him for just a couple of days to help you set up your studio and make suggestions on level setting, signal chains, and mic selection and placement. Then go and record a few people for free, just for the practice. When you've built up a bunch of questions, get that engineer to come down for a couple more working days and show you more. After doing it yourself for a while, you'll learn more by watching the nice engineer.
Finally, remember that there are some damn good engineers on this board who would give their left nut to own that Avalon, and other similar gear, and it's hard for them not to get a little hostile when they see gear that could solve some of their biggest problems in the hands of someone who doesn't know how to use it-yet. Recording gear can be toys, or it can be- tools. There are many workmen here who see a kid playing with a good set of vernier calipers, and they want to take it away from him before he breaks it and say,"Emu, that's not a toy." Be sensitive to these people, because some of them *are* the nice engineers who can tell you how to use all of that expensive stuff.
Also remember that most of the people here who have some real good setups have sacrificed and sweated to get it, and always had to use gear that isn't ideal, making compromises for the best sound they can get. It's like they made it to the top of Mt. Everest, and just as they reached the summit, you got out of your helicopter and asked, "Whar's the best rope money can buy? I just know I can be a mountain climber." Don't let it get to you. If you learn the trade you've chosen, they'll help you more than you'd expect right now. One thing you won't get this way, though, is the exhilaration of the day you put your old cheap gear away and look at your new Avalon, Neumann, Manley, Brauner, etc. gear and know that for what *you* want to do, there's no better piece of gear, and you actually made the sacrifices to get it.
And, if you find recording's not for you, call Littledog and Trackrat, and they'll make you an offer-LOL. Best of luck with your new gear.-Richie
